Oatcakes, Oat Biscuits, Oat My

I was recently given products from Nairn's Oatcakes to try and enjoy. And, after just one bite, I was hooked. Nairn's Oatcakes are simple, healthy, wholesome, and a perfect pairing for a decadent topper.

Who am I kidding, though? Half of my family is from Scotland, so I am pretty much born to eat oats. Oatcakes, oat biscuits, oat anything is truly yummy to me. The only problem for me when eating Nairn's Oatcakes was when I tried to pick a favourite flavour. I liked them all!

So instead of choosing a favourite flavour, I worked on the perfect topper. What I came up with was something that was incredibly easy and incredible tasting. It's a Salmon Pâté that bursts with flavour and goes perfectly with Nairn's Oatcakes. Visit Nairn's Oatcakes on Facebook to learn more.

Once You Pop, You Can't Stop

It can be hard to find yummy vegetarian game day snacks, but yummy vegan game day snacks you can pretty much forget about. Unless you count raw veggies with hummus, but I don't that as a yummy game day snack. 

Veganricha made an awesome vegan Jalepeno Popper dip that I definitely count though. It is rich and cheesy but contains no cheese whatsoever. I made a few changes to Veganricha's recipe to quicken up the process but the original pretty delicious. It just takes a little more time than my version. 

The Canadian Garden

When I heard that this month's Canadian Food Experience Project was to write about the Canadian garden, I looked outside in my own garden and saw wee little plants just starting to rear their heads. I don't have much of a garden to write about yet this year. And, since I don't have much of a green thumb, I'm not really able to coax much out of my garden on a good year.

So I decided to get a little cheeky and write about my version of a Canadian garden. My version is more about heading to my Farmer's Market, buying some lovely fresh veggies, and making a dip platter that makes you think you're heading into the garden.

Ready for a little fun? Read on for my Canadian Veggie Garden Dip recipe featuring fresh veggies on top of a hummus and olive tapenade dip.

An Olympic Sized Giveaway

I love Christmas but now that it's over I'm ready to start thinking about the 2014 Olympic Games. I cannot wait to wear our Canadian colours proudly, watch the opening ceremony, and start cheering on our amazingly talented athletes.

Every year I like to celebrate the Olympics with themed snacks. I just love making things that will make my friends and family smile and get into the Olympic mood. The food must taste good, be easy to make (so that I don't miss a minute of the excitement), and of course resemble an Olympic sport. 

This year I decided to make a fun layered dip topped with a curling end zone. I like to think that it might help the Canadian teams become victorious, but if not, I know it made my family smile. And since Yoplait is a proud supporter of Team Canada at this year's Olympics, I incorporated Yoplait into my recipe. 

Read on for my recipe and also for a great giveaway to help you get decked out in style for this year's Olympic Games!

Chips and Dip

When I hear the words "chips and dip" I automatically think of thick cut potato chips, a huge bowl of French onion dip, and football. I also think of a couple hundred calories. I love chips and dip as much as the next girl, but I also want to be able to enjoy a crunchy chip and a silky dip without the crazy calories.

Thus my Cinnamon Apple Chips and Caramel Yogurt Dip were born. These chips are low fat, crunchy, incredibly yummy, and would make a great back to school gift for a teacher too. Plus, when they're served with this dip, oh boy, you had better make a double batch. Mine disappeared right   before my eyes. And I was the only one home too!

Moroccan Flavours

I have a love of appetizers that just won't go away. I love small bites from a communal plate of delicious treats because they're usually shared with friends or family, there's usually a ton of different choices of food, and also because no one knows how much you've had to eat!

Ok, I'm kidding on the last bit. Sort of. But back to business, I do love appetizers. 

Today's post is a delicious version of Baba Ganoush, it's more involved than the previous version I shared but I think the added flavour makes it worth the extra ingredients!

Source of Happiness and a Giveaway!

I bike to work everyday and this month marks the weather where I am finally happy to strap on my helmet and pedal. The cherry trees are in full bloom, it's warmer, and I feel great having gotten a little exercise before sitting at a desk all day. 

I like to think I deserve a treat for a pick me up in the afternoon after all that pedalling, but I try to choose something healthy (most days) because staying in shape is why I've taken up biking. Yoplait Source Greek yogurt is one of the best options I have found in a long time for a healthy treat. It's only 50 calories for a serving, it tastes like I am eating something decadent and creamy, and it comes in a great number of flavour options. 

If knowing about this delicious new yogurt isn't enough, I am able to gift one lucky reader with a Yoplait Source Greek yogurt kit that includes free coupons to try this new product as well as a $100 Lululemon gift card that could be used to buy new active wear clothes to help you find your Source of happiness! 

To earn an entry into this giveaway, all you have to do is tell me what flavour of Yoplait Source Greek yogurt you'd be most interested in trying and for a second entry, just like my Facebook page. 

This giveaway will run from now until April 29 and is open to all Canadian residents. You can enter across multiple blogs, but may only win one prize. 

And if you're looking for more ways to incorporate Yoplait yogurt into your diet, try this amazing guilt free Healthified Greek Layered Dip recipe from Life Made Delicious. I made my slightly simpler version twice in one weekend and would have made it a third time, but I ran out of hummus!

Dip a Dee Do Dah

I love a good spinach dip, especially one that's served hot and covered in cheese. But while they're as tasty as can be, they're not very good for you. 

Spinach dips clearly have spinach in them and spinach is of course good for you, but most dips are also chock full of mayonnaise and full fat sour cream. My Spinach Dip doesn't have mayonnaise or sour cream in it and it also doesn't have a lot of cheese, but this doesn't mean it's not tasty. 

My dip has yogurt to make it creamy, artichokes to add extra flavour, and enough cheese so you can taste it. It goes great with veggies, but it would also be wonderful served in a bread bowl!

Homemade Heluva Good

I love a good dip to dunk veggies and chips into, but I don't love having to buy a full fat dip at the grocery store. I know that it tastes good, but I don't know what's in it and if it's bad for me. 

So what I've done is to make my version of a low fat Caramelized Onion Dip. It's got real veggies in it, not powdered soup, and it's full of healthy Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. It's proven to be a winner in my house, I hope it will be a winner in yours too. 

What Is This?

A few weeks ago I was at the Farmer's Market and I discovered a new vegetable. It wasn't a scientific discovery or anything like that, it was just a veggie for sale that I've never tried before. And since I've tried a lot of veggies, that's a pretty tall order.

Do you know what it is? Think hard now because the first person to tell me the correct answer wins an appetizer named after them!

Salt of the Earth

It's just not a summer BBQ without a burger. So to finish off my week of grilling I've sharing a burger recipe with you. 

I know it wasn't that long ago that I last shared my Meatloaf Burger, but this is a new one. And this one is the most simple burger you can ever imagine. 

Cooking shows and chefs always seem to share the same old "secrets" of cooking the perfect burger and I used to shrug them aside as things a chef would do in a really busy kitchen. I used to think that a busy just wouldn't have time for something as special as my Meatloaf Burger. 

So I decided I would try their "tricks" and see what kind of burger appeared. And, boy, was I surprised - they were great!

I'll still make my Meatloaf Burgers on weekends and for parties, but now I have a great easy weeknight burger too! 

Spread a Little Love

I try a lot of new foods, especially when people I love suggest a new recipe to me. Everyone that knows me knows that I love food, so it's special to me that they want to share a recipe. 

Today's recipe was from a loved one. But usually I read the recipe and think that it sounds yummy. Or I see a picture and see a mouth watering treat. 

This time I read the recipe and saw the picture and I just had to take my loved ones word for it because the recipe sounded weird and the picture looked a little unappetizing too. 

I saved the recipe to make on New Year's Eve and it was worth it. It surprised me with lots of flavour and it really proves the point that you can't always judge a book by it's cover. 

Skinny Dipping

Veggies are so healthy and fill me up really well, but sometimes I just get really sick of them and need something to dip them into. The problem with store bought dips is that they're usually fattening. Did you know you might be better off ordering a hamburger opposed to a salad at some fast food restaurants because of the dressing? 

But homemade dips can be really healthy and tasty. Plus, the simple hummus (as you've already seen in my posts about regular hummus and spinach hummus) can be twisted into so many creations. 

Here's another yummy version of hummus. This one stays creamier after it's refrigerated and it incorporates any leftover holiday sweet potatoes that may still be cluttering up your fridge too!

Take a Guac Around the Block

This time of year I always love snacking and nibbling on all the goodies at holiday parties. I tell myself it's ok because it's Christmas, but when the holidays are over I usually notice that my pants a tiny bit tighter.

So today's post is my yummy and lower fat version of a favourite snack food and also an encouragement to walk around the block at least once this holiday season.

Hopefully your pants will fit perfectly and you'll still be able to enjoy all cookies, cheese, and wine you want.

And who knows, maybe you'll see some festive holiday lights on your walk too?

Quick and Easy

My Christmas tree is decorated and just like every year I had to make a bunch of snacks to enjoy for the party because it takes a few hours to decorate the tree and you need your energy to make everything look perfect.

This year I didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen so everything I made had to be quick and easy. But, most importantly, it all had to taste great too.

I knew I wanted to make a spinach dip for one of my appetizers, but I was hoping to make something a little healthier than a cheesy baked concoction. I wasn't the most concerned about the calories in general, I just wanted to be able to enjoy a few cookies too.

Here's my version of a healthy spinach dip using ricotta in place of the common cheddar. It's great for veggies and anything else you want to dip into it. Plus, no baking is required so it's much faster to whip up than the baked version!

All You Need is Cheese

Have you ever rewritten lyrics to a popular song to make them your own? 

I have. And I don't mean just changing a woman's name to Sarah to make the Backstreet Boys sing about how much they love me. I did much more than that!

In a high school biology class my friends and I went all out and changed the lyrics of Sugar, Sugar to tell a story about the cell membrane. We kept the tune the same and it was amazing. 

I won't sing the whole thing, but the chorus went a bit like this: "the cell membrane, do do do do do do, oh the cell membrane."

You know, I actually can't remember much more than that, but I am sure you could recreate it I spent enough time trying. 

Then, there was also the time I created a rap about Magnesium. 

I was a 16 year old white girl and I created my own beat. I think you can guess how that went... And you can probably guess I didn't sit with the cool kids at lunch too...

Anyway, this recipe is so easy that I wanted to toss out a challenge. You will have so much time on your hands that you will need it. 

Use the tune to All You Need is Love, but change "love" to "cheese". I don't know for sure, but I think this challenge might be even easier than the recipe!

Chick Night

After a long week of work, it's great to veg out in comfy clothes and just laugh with your girlfriends.

Work can be stressful and being with my friends helps me to relax and smile.

You can watch a movie, do pedicures, or just enjoy drinks, snacks, and laughs.

Actually, to be honest, I don't think I've ever gotten together with friends and not had snacks...

One things I always like to serve is a veggie tray because that works for all kinds of diets. But I can't serve my friends veggies alone, so I like to serve the veggies with dips.

If you're ever stuck on ideas, try this one. It's quick to make and tastes great.

The Father of All Dips

Ok... So I took a little liberty with the title of this post, and maybe no one has ever called this recipe the Father of All Dips. But they should, and not only for the taste. 

I'm talking about Baba Ganoush and while I love the smoky flavour of the slow roasted garlic and eggplant, the word Baba actually translates to father in Arabic. 

Mother's believed that if they fed their daughter's this dip, they would attract husbands with similar attributes to their fathers. 

I don't know how true that is, but you know it's said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so maybe the daughter's just learned their mother's recipes after tasting the yummy dips! 

Plus, I think someone's father just loved this dip and that's partially why it's called Baba Ganoush. Maybe someone named Father Ganoush!

I hope you love my creamy version!